Vegan

A teacher at Fox River Grove Middle School who was fired after officials complained that he had turned his art classes into lectures on veganism filed an appeal Wednesday with the Illinois State Board of Education. Dave Warwak, 44, of Williams Bay, Wis., asked the state board to appoint a hearing officer to review his termination. He had said he would not return to the classroom unless the school served only lunches free of animal products. District 3 school board members voted Sept.

The newest Mariano's store will be the first with a grill catering to vegans and kombucha on tap, as the rapidly expanding chain continues to test which features appeal to shoppers. Mariano's has been adding new products and services to stand out in the crowded food retail market. All of its stores feature coffee and gelato bars, and many offer free grilling of meat, poultry and fish bought at the store. Oyster bars and wine bars have also opened at some of the stores,...

In an appeal to your conscience as well as your style-consciousness, Jane Marvel bags offer an alternative to leather handbags and satchels dangling four-figure price tags. In vegan-friendly laminated canvas, the fun but sophisticated prints look just right for summer getaways. Silhouettes include overnight bags (spare yourself the luggage check-in fees!), computer bags and shopping bags that are water-resistant and available in solids too. The best part: Most of the bags are around $100 or...

Someone on Twitter saw that I was covering the National Restaurant Association's annual trade show this past weekend, and she described the convention as such: "crazy fun/horrifying/intriguing all at once. " I couldn't have said it better myself. Let's take it one phrase at a time: It's crazy fun in that exhibitors are shoving food in your face, and if you're the kind to enjoy free sample day at the supermarket, this is that times a thousand. Nathan's Famous, Vienna Beef and Red Hot...

Dear Amy: My son recently became engaged to a girl whose parents are vegans (although she isn't). They invited my husband and me to dinner and served a vegan meal, which we graciously ate and enjoyed. We always host Thanksgiving dinner at our home, and I invited them to join us. I offered to prepare an all-vegan meal for them. Their answer was that they would be unable to eat in a home where there are dead animal products served at the table. In other words, if there is turkey on the...

The only mention of "The Big Bang Theory" in Mayim Bialik's new cookbook, "Mayim's Vegan Table," is in her brief bio on the back cover. She doesn't prepare meatless meals for her colorful cast mates on the popular sitcom. "Everybody is pretty set in their cooking ways," she says with just a pinch of judgment in her voice. And the star of '90s sitcom "Blossom" has a recipe that employs flowers, but her editor cut the zucchini-blossom dish from her book. (Will Blossom ever win?) Thankfully,...

Vegetarianism making the Tribune ["Meatless Goes Mainstream," Oct. 5]--that's big time for us grass munchers! However, there's more to the health aspect. I work 16 hours a day on average, sleep four hours a night and get up charged and ready every morning. I began altering my diet at 14 when I realized my dad had heart disease. It killed him and four of my mom's five brothers. As a vegan, I eat nothing that comes from an animal, including honey, eggs, etc. Buddies always made fun of my eating habits and now I am the...

While veganism may be considered a hip and progressive trend in modern dining, the practice of abstaining from animal products is a centuries old practice, dating to the ancient civilizations of India and Greece. And yet, only in the past decade have all-vegan restaurants begun cropping up in cities outside of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, as the cultural perception of veganism has shifted from niche and alternative to more mainstream. Veganism, an extension of vegetarianism that excludes...

Parent advice from our panel of staff contributors An elderly relative went to some extra lengths to provide foodstuffs for a younger vegan relative one recent holiday. The relative read the fine print on a cheese package labeled "vegetarian" and told our elder - apologetically - that it contained casein, which is an animal protein, and therefore she couldn't eat it. For that reason, it is good for the vegan (or her guardians) to bring some provisions and offer in advance to prepare and...

West Hollywood's new Gracias Madre comes from the folks at Cafe Gratitude, but with a dash of Mexican flavor and without the kooky names. Wood plank floors, festively tiled counters and banquettes livened up with colorful Mexican textile pillows make a stylish backdrop for the plant-based menu. The large patio lined with olive trees is perfect for margaritas on warm evenings -- and fortunately for this clientele the guacamole is already vegan. Eat: ...

Getting kids to eat healthfully and well is a perennial challenge for parents, especially when the younger set begins to make table choices at odds with the familial norm or, to put it more starkly, flatly refuse to eat what mom and dad have made for dinner. Now comes a new children's book, "Vegan is Love: Having Heart and Taking Action" (North Atlantic Books, $16.95), which may raise tensions in some households. Written and illustrated by Ruby Roth, the Los Angeles-based author of...

To the non-meat eater, "comforting" and "familiar" aren't often used in the same sentence with "diner food. " Most vegetarians I know aren't satisfied with most diners' singular menu option of mushy cherry tomatoes on a bed of wilted iceberg lettuce (hold the bacon bits, please). But The Chicago Diner is all about comfort and familiarity, for the carnivorous and vegetarian alike. Chicago Diner's husband and wife co-founders Marshall "Mickey" Hornick and Jo...

Chicago has seen vegetarian restaurants before, and vegetable menus before, but nothing, not even the vegetable tasting menus that Charlie Trotter offered during his long career, compares to the Vegan menu currently featured at Next. In more than 20 courses across four hours, Next dazzles diners with one inventive vegan creation after another. People who are vegetarians or vegans probably believe they have an idea of what to expect. They're wrong. All the usual vegetable suspects, all the easy...

As rich as they taste, these truffles are simple to make - and easily adapted to many tastes. Vary the flavor by eliminating the coffee granules and adding 1 teaspoon of mint extract or 4 teaspoons of almond extract. Or change things around by rolling some truffles in ground almonds and others in ground walnuts or shredded coconut. Make the truffles festive for Valentine's Day by adorning the plate with some red ribbon or a bow. The truffles also make an extraordinary after-dinner or...

By Edited by RedEye staff members (ritaredeye@tribune.com) | March 18, 2003

Between all the St. Patrick's Day revelry and war protests in Chicago, it's hard to grab attention these days for anything else. But one activist definitely drew notice and not a few gawkers Monday with a little breast baring instead of breast beating. Wearing tiny green shorts and nothing else, a woman from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals stood in front of the Daley Center handing out pro-vegan fliers and candy until the police hauled her off for indecent exposure.

An Orland Park restaurant that focuses on fresh, health-conscious food and offers vegan and gluten-free items was the brainchild of a mother of six who has named some of the menu offerings after her family and friends. "It was something I felt was just good to have out there, healthier choices, while keeping quality," said Cyndi Dezutter, who co-owns Blissful Banana Café, 15447 S. 94th Ave. in Orland Park, with her husband Dennis Dezutter. With some of her children...

Dave Warwak's campaign to teach his 8th-grade art students about the evils of an omnivorous lifestyle is officially over the top. Warwak, who says he was removed from his McHenry County classroom last week by the "ardent meat eaters" who run Fox River Grove District 3, had predicted he would be fired at a Monday meeting with his bosses. That didn't happen, but Warwak now says he won't return to work unless the school cafeteria goes vegan, eliminating meat, milk and other "poisons" from the menu.

No animal products? No problem. R&B mega-star Beyonce Knowles appeared to stick to her much-publicized vegan diet while in Chicago for her concert at the United Center, visiting vegan-friendly Karyn's Cooked in River North Friday and Saturday. “The lovely & talented @Beyonce stopped at Karyn's Cooked for lunch,” tweeted Karyn's owner Karyn Calabrese. Knowles -- who unexpectedly released a self-titled album Thursday on iTunes -- also was spotted Friday...

Roger Clemens has been called a steroid user, a hothead and a liar over the last two months, and he has denied them all. But a vegan? The question, lobbed during Wednesday's congressional hearing, seemed to baffle Clemens. "Have you ever been a vegan?" Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) said as he ran down a list of people who receive injections of vitamin B12, as Clemens has said he did. "I don't know what that is," Clemens said. "I'm sorry." The People for the Ethical Treatment of...

My wife has always been a dedicated salad eater, so it was striking that she developed an intense craving for red meat when she was pregnant with our son. Sure enough, the boy turned out to be quite the carnivore, scarfing down enough burgers, steak and ribs to stagger a longshoreman. That's why it was such a surprise the other day when he told us he wanted to give vegetarianism a try. He didn't explain the reason for this interest, but I'm happy to encourage it: Even...